Time's Passage
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: One last day was all Sachael had even if she didn't want the others to know it yet... she would have her wishes come true by spending her remaining with her childhood friends and doing what she, Amanda and Immy used to do. (Co-written with Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine)
1. Long Time Gone

_14 year old Amanda screamed, yelled and fought back as Ty was dragging her out of the destroyed car… but Ty held onto her as she screamed for Sachael._

"_She's gone, kiddo…" Ty responded quietly._

"_No! No, my sister is not gone!" Amanda yelled as tears ran down her face like waterfalls._

"_It's a miracle you survived that yourself, there's no way she could-" Ty started to respond… before the two heard a pained voice speaking over the grinding noise of the dented and damaged engine._

"_You two really need to… re-evaluate how strong you think people are…" Sachael spoke as she shakily managed to limp out from between the shattered glass and twisted cars… moments before her left knee suddenly gave out and the kneecap smacked against the concrete. "Shi… I-I can't move it…"_

_Ty called 911 as Amanda pulled herself over to Sachael and helped her up._

"_You lean against me, Sis." Amanda replied as they held each other._

"_Yeah… Mandy, I can't feel it either. It's like… half my leg isn't even there!" Sachael responded, looking down at her limp leg as it was dragged along the ground as she hopped along with the other and Amanda's support._

_It was at the ER that Amanda and Ty waited… and Ty saw Amanda glaring at the drunk driver that had hit the two teenagers._

_As she was about to walk over, Ty stopped her and got her to turn to him._

"_Stay calm." Ty responded._

"_He's laughing his ass off!" Amanda replied ragefully before she walked over and slapped the driver, who put his right hand to his face. "You want to laugh about trying to murder two people, you heartless bastard?!" She yelled as she repeatedly struck him despite the nurses trying to restrain her._

_Once she was pulled away, it was because of George and Andre… and the two got her to sit down._

"_Where is she?! The doctors won't let me see her!" Amanda responded._

"_Dad's with her now…" George explained._

"_How bad is she hurt?" Amanda asked as she knew the tone in George's voice._

"_Mandy…" George started to explain, Amanda turning to denial._

"_No… she was talking just a half hour ago, she pulled herself from the car!" Amanda responded as George tried to hug her. "No, she's not gone!" She yelled as George held her and she cried into him._

_The teenagers all held each other as they grieved for Sachael…_

28 year old Amanda's eyes opened, Finn holding his fiancee closer to him.

"Nightmares?" Finn responded, Amanda nodding.

"I keep thinking back to that day… scared of what would've happened if she had been taken away." Amanda replied, trying to sit up… but she blinked as she felt dizzy and Finn helped her lie back down, lightly rubbing her back as he was concerned.

"Any headache, Darlin'?" Finn asked.

"No… the room just won't stop spinning." Amanda replied.

"Like you planned to, we can go and see her today. I know it's been a while since you did and I just want you to feel okay enough to, Love." Finn responded after a few moments.

"I just hope she's okay… I haven't gotten any letters back from her." Amanda replied as they held each other… and seeing that it was a little past 4 in the morning, she fell asleep again.

It was when they were awake again that Amanda had eaten some of her breakfast and since it wasn't dark in the room, Finn noticed that she was a little pale.

"I'm starting to think we should make sure you're okay before going to see her. You haven't eaten much." Finn responded.

"She'd flip out if she saw me like this, we know that… but it's been 4 years since I last saw her." Amanda replied, Finn carefully holding her.

"She'd kill me if she found out that her little sister isn't okay." Finn responded.

"She would." Amanda replied before she picked up her LG Aristo 2 and saw a text from Immy.

_'I should warn you before you get here so you can brace yourselves.'_

_'Is she okay?' _Amanda responded.

_'Lets just say she's not in a position to be very… independent, anymore.' _Immy answered.

Amanda stood up to go and get dressed… and Finn had to catch her from falling over, helping her sit down.

"We have to finish getting ready for the day…" Amanda responded as Finn cradled her face in his hands.

"Give yourself a few more minutes to relax, Darlin'." Finn replied before they kissed.

At a house across town, Immy looked at Sachael.

"She's gonna lose it at seeing me like this…" Sachael responded quietly.

"Now you know Mandy and her fiance are gonna stop by and see you no matter what." Immy explained, Sachael turning curious.

"She's engaged?" Sachael responded.

"Finn is a lot different from her exes, Sachael. They've started trying for a family recently." Immy replied.

"I would hope so. Otherwise I'll have to force the damn impulses to my feet so I can stand up and smack him one." Sachael responded, Immy laughing at that.

"You go through hell yet you never change." Immy said after a moment.

"Nah, not for no one." Sachael replied.

"When I talked to her last night, she seemed a lot more tired than she normally is." Immy responded.

"You think it worked for them?" Sachael questioned.

"You always said you wanted to hold her kids after they were born…" Immy replied, noticing slight sadness in Sachael's face.

"I can't even move my own arms now… that damn driver." Sachael responded, Immy hugging her.

"You'll see her. And their child, I'll make-" Immy started to say, trailing off when she saw Sachael close her eyes, usually a habit she did when hit with a rush of feelings. And all of these feelings felt dark and cold.

"Immy… I heard them talking. The other night… I'm not gonna last." Sachael responded quietly once she opened her eyes again.

"You're getting worse…" Immy replied as she brushed her tears away.

"I'm not even sure I'll live to see my niece or nephew." Sachael responded.

"If it's a girl… do you want them to honor you by giving her your first name?" Immy questioned.

"And get depressed every time they call their daughter down for dinner?... If they so wish to. I just… wish they wouldn't have a reason to." Sachael responded, before turning her mobile chair around with the tiniest of thumb twitches she was still capable of managing on the directional switch on the right side armrest, now facing out of the window. It was still early morning enough that the edge of the sky still retained a golden shine as the sun had risen. "Always makes me think it's like a thousand bombs in the atmosphere exploded all at once."

Immy knew that telling them wouldn't be easy.


	2. When Life Turns Us Upside Down

_**June 27th 2018… **_

Finn drove slowly, glancing at Amanda… it had only been an hour and a half after they had found out but he saw the nervous expression on her face.

"I don't know how she's going to react… she's always been overprotective. And I would always say that I'd be a wife before..." Amanda replied as Finn lightly rubbed her left wrist to calm her.

"She's not gonna kill me. Doesn't mean that your dad won't try to." Finn responded.

"I know he's got that shotgun somewhere. Maybe after this, we can run to Vegas, get married and then tell him." Amanda replied.

"Then he'll really kill me. Provided that your brothers don't." Finn responded.

"They're not homicidal, Finn." Amanda replied as they were near the house and saw Immy outside.

"No but they are scary." Finn explained as he parked the Equinox and shut the engine off before they got out and locked the car up… and Amanda and Immy hugged.

It was as the three walked in that Amanda's and Finn's eyes widened when they saw Sachael… but she managed a smile.

"You, sister… get over here. This broken ol' body isn't gonna hug itself." Sachael spoke after the few initial moments passed.

Amanda walked over, crouched down and hugged Sachael… and Sachael heard her sniffling and knew she was fighting tears.

"Look at me…" Sachael responded, Amanda doing so. "This isn't your fault or anyone's… I'm just running out of time, Mandy." She explained.

"I don't want to lose you…" Amanda responded quietly.

"You won't just yet. We've got work to do, very demanding and desperate work… it's called a walk down to the beachfront, think you can manage that?" Sachael replied, before glancing down, unable to tilt her head down too far due to the breathing aid attached to her throat. "Okay… _trip _to the beach."

It was when they had reached their destination that Sachael closed her eyes and smiled as the summer warmth felt good against her face.

"Remember that one summer that we spent a whole day out here? You, me, Andre, Immy and everyone?" Amanda questioned, Sachael opening her eyes.

"Yeah… that was the day when Andre chased you through the waves on the shoreline and you ended up getting a big bruise on your knee by tripping over and bashing it on a pebble." Sachael answered, looking up to Amanda.

"He felt so bad but I kept reassuring him it was an accident." Amanda replied as she sat up straighter. "Doctor confirmed it earlier…" She responded as they smiled.

"Nice… I said this to Immy, please don't name a girl after me if it's gonna make you sad every time you call them. I… I wouldn't want that in my legacy." Sachael replied, looking back out across the flowing waves of the sea as she thought… she couldn't keep it a secret from anyone now, least of all from Amanda. "Sometimes… the nurses and my parents talk when they think I'm too doped up on morphine to hear them. They've been saying… Mandy, my respiratory system is failing. And there's only one way it goes… one day, pretty soon, the lungs become too weak. They stop drawing air, but they do it before anything else stops, I… I suffocate without any power in my chest and…" She trailed off, as the more she'd said, the harder it had become to say it.

The two were just silent for a while. Between hearts being torn from the inside and the desire not to lose each other, neither knew what to say.

"Mandy… I'm glad you came. We may not get much more time like this… so let's make it last."

"We need to… me and Finn will make sure this little one knows what you were like before the accident, Sachael." Amanda replied, Sachael smiling.

"You're scared to tell your parents." Sachael responded.

"Yes." Amanda replied.

"I would say… just never forget what a legacy is, Mandy. It's what's kept me going, leaving something behind, planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. The things you create will last long after you're gone and they will all carry part of you with them, that's… I wish I could have been a mother." Sachael responded, quietly at the end after a pause.

"You would've been a damn good one." Amanda replied.

"I like to think I would… my… nose is getting cold, we should get back indoors now." Sachael responded with a smile, looking up at her again.

Back in the house, Amanda was having trouble staying alert… and Finn got her to lie down on the couch.

"It's been a hell of a day. We could both do with some rest." Finn spoke quietly. Though if there was one thing about Sachael that hadn't grown rusty, it was her sharp ears.

"Get in here then, I've got something to do! And chairs that are more comfy than that old couch… I think. They look it anyway."

The two headed into the room curiously, Sachael's room being the garage extension of the house with the door filled in and all the medical apparatus she needed in there. Stepping through the door felt like going through a portal from the house to a hospital room.

Sachael nodded towards a small box that was on the shelf opposite the foot of her bed, beneath the TV. "I seem to recall that one of our favourite things as young ones was to watch a movie all night and see who'd fall asleep first."

"Yes it was. Except for that time we watched _Poltergeist_. That movie still scares me." Amanda replied.

"Before my legs gave out I went and burnt that old VHS tape. My mom told me if I unleashed a curse on the house because of it, she'd pull my arms off… then put them back on and kiss them better. She was so much more funny before… there's a few different films in there. I think there's a Star Wars too, might be a bit dusty." Sachael explained.

Amanda looked through them and found _Balto_… and Sachael smiled.

"Go on then, that's one with a few memories." Sachael replied, nodding towards the old VHS player to one side. The whole system was covered in dust, the TV itself was pretty much the only thing that wasn't. It made Amanda wonder just how long Sachael had been unable to walk to them.

After dusting it off, Amanda put the movie in and they watched… and Amanda leaned against Finn, who held her.

Towards the end of the movie, Sachael had noticed that Amanda was asleep… and she glanced at Immy.

"Looks like she lost for once… usually she was the queen of late nights." Immy spoke quietly, Sachael letting out a quick laugh before cringing. "You okay?"

"Headache… could do with some pain relief." Sachael answered before nodding towards the IV to the left of her bed. Immy walked over to it, going to turn the dial on but then noticing that the attached fluid bag was almost empty.

"No can do?" Immy responded in a more questioning tone.

"Parents keep them upstairs, in my old bedroom where they think I can't get to them… you can."

Immy nodded and quietly headed out of the room, heading for the stairs. She found Sachael's old bedroom… some things were gone but it was like stepping into a time capsule of when her injuries weren't so severe, posters all over the place, a couple old Polaroid cameras, a bed which was still disheveled as though Sachael had only just gotten out of it, not that it had been almost two years since she'd been even near it.

She found the box in the corner of the room, opening it to find the fluid packs. "Morphine… Sachael is on some serious shit here." She spoke, thinking out loud to herself before closing the box and bringing the bag back downstairs.

Once the bag was attached and the dial had been turned on enough, Sachael let out a sigh. "Thanks… I'll be off my tits in the morning."

"I almost strangled the doctor when Mandy reacted badly to it after breaking her leg." Immy replied.

"Wish I could have been there… I'd have done it myself." Sachael responded, before glancing over at Immy. "Get some sleep, you need it as much as she does. Just… film's over, change the channel on?" Immy nodded and grabbed the remote, switching it from the VHS input to the TV stations themselves, the last used channel turning out to be a music station. "That'll do… get some shut eye." Sachael said with a smile as they caught it just as a new track started, which just so happened to be one of her favourites to hear, _Mountains - Message To Bears_.

When Amanda opened her eyes, Finn was picking her up into his arms.

"How long was I out?" Amanda questioned.

"Put it this way, the sun is up now." Finn answered, glancing over at Sachael who with his help earlier that morning, had headphones on listening to an audio book.

"You're more than welcome to take naps. And tell that bald headed asshole to back off of you when you get back to work." Sachael responded.

"Corbin needs to go back to SmackDown." Amanda replied before she noticed that Sachael was struggling to breathe. "Sachael?!" She responded in a panic as Finn helped her stand up.

"I'm fine… no I'm not." Sachael responded, leaning her head over and swinging it quickly forward to throw the headphones off and into her lap. "My parents think I don't know but it's not hard to do a little research… Mandy, they rented everything you see in this room. The bed, the IV, they buy the morphine… they dish out only a little short of a million a month for me, it's… I don't want that. I don't want them throwing away their life savings, their retirement money, just to prolong my life by another few painful months." As she spoke, Amanda stepped around the bed and sat down to the left side of it, beside her. "And then how I go when it fails, I… I don't want to die like that."

"Your parents love you so much… that's why they spend all this for you." Amanda responded, though she could see it did little to shift Sachael's mindset. To her, too many people had given up too much for a life she found barely worth living.

"Mandy, I… I need you to- I want…" Sachael spoke, so difficult to get the words into shape. Her eyes had already become wettened from the thought of what she was asking, but she had to ask. "I need you to… all you need to do is…" She looked up at the IV "...crank the dial up to eleven…"

Amanda felt Finn hold her right hand as they looked at each other… and she reached over, turning the IV dial up and Sachael managing a smile.

"Mandy…" Sachael whispered, the massive dose of morphine taking a moment to kick in. Just a moment to say what she wanted to, the words that would become her own legacy. "Having you here was… the best goodbye gift I could have asked for. And I can… fall asleep dreaming of us here, right now."

"If you see them…" Amanda responded as tears ran down her face, Sachael nodding slightly as she knew that Amanda meant the ones they had lost over the years.

"I love you, Mandy…" Sachael said quietly with her eyes closed… and the massive dose of medication kicked in and with the right timing, before it took over her mind she was able to do one final thing. She slowly managed to slide her left arm over the bed and rest her hand on top of Amanda's. "I'll see you around."

Amanda kissed Sachael's forehead and then she and Finn held each other as they let their tears fall.

And left the house one last time.


	3. Piecing It Back Together

At the hotel, Amanda was on the bed with Finn holding her.

"Two and a half years without a muscle responding was long enough torment for her… you did the right thing. She's free and… saved from a far more punishing end." Finn spoke after a while of silence.

"She is… but it hurts. She was there when I was falling apart… she'd still be here if that driver never got in his car." Amanda replied before her phone rang again… and she picked it up. "Will you stop calling already?!" She snapped, inadvertently scaring Seth.

"Hey, just take a minute to breathe, kiddo." Seth responded, Amanda doing so.

"Sachael's gone…" Amanda managed to explain, Seth knowing that her heart was broken.

"Damn it… and I remember meeting her when you and her were still kids, did…" Seth started to ask.

"Her damage spread, she was wheelchair bound…" Finn explained, knowing Amanda wouldn't be able to get the words together at the moment. "Her lungs were on the way out but she… went peacefully."

"It needed to be peaceful…" Seth replied.

"I'd like to imagine that she's back with her childhood cat… she had a calico who loved her from the moment she was a few days old." Amanda responded. "I feel like I need to be on bereavement leave but I know she wouldn't want me to stop working." She replied.

"She knew that when you work in this industry, it's how you've always vented." Seth responded.

"True, it's just… I'll have to transition to commentary or be a backstage interviewer for a while." Amanda replied, Seth figuring it out from how she spoke. "Seth, you there?" She asked after he went quiet, Seth snapping out of his thoughts.

"Yeah… did she know?" Seth replied.

"She smiled when I told her. I just… I wish I had come back home a lot more." Amanda responded as Finn got her to sit up, the look on his face indicating that he was worried about her not eating.

"The times you spent with her were more than enough to make anyone happy, kiddo." Seth replied.

"She also said she wouldn't want the baby named after her if it would make me and Finn sad." Amanda responded as Finn handed her an apple and she ate it as he decided to order pizza… and Amanda swore for a second that she heard Sachael's voice.

"_Be careful… Baron won't take your transition to a non wrestling role lightly."_

_'Too bad for him, that part of my career needs to be on hold for now.' _Amanda thought.

It was when she was alone that Immy sat down at the beach… and looked out at the ocean.

"If we could only rewind and have it all play out differently… honestly though, I think today went as best as it could have, considering." Immy said after a moment, knowing that Amanda was watching the sea thinking of watching it with Sachael the evening before.

She knew that she and the others needed time away from home.

_**July 2nd 2018…**_

JJ, Val and Amanda were helping set up the ring when Val noticed Amanda having to lean against the ring apron… and she and JJ helped her sit down.

"Go backstage and lie down, kiddo. We've got it from here." Val responded.

"You sure?" Amanda asked.

"Yes. You look exhausted." JJ replied before Amanda left and JJ turned to Val. "Won't be long before the others find out and she's nearing the second month." He whispered, Val nodding.

"I wonder if they'll have a girl…" Val responded.

In the backstage area, Baron had gotten away from Immy after she wouldn't tell him where Amanda was and found Amanda on a couch… and slammed the door, Amanda jolting out of her sleep.

"What now?!" Amanda responded angrily at him.

"Just because you lost someone is no reason to try to get out of matches!" Baron replied, Amanda standing up and slapping him.

"Sachael! Her name was Sachael and she wasn't just someone, she was my sister! You lost your father ten years ago, I know he's on your mind every day so you don't get to tell me how to grieve!" Amanda yelled, Baron turning startled and leaving.

He walked away and right past Finn… and stopped and turned back.

"Get your fiancee under control!" Baron responded.

"Why should I when you obviously antagonized her?" Finn asked.

"All I did was say she can't get out of matches for the foreseeable future-" Baron responded, Finn punching him as Immy and Hunter reached them.

"I told you, we all told you to leave Mandy alone!" Immy replied angrily as Finn and Hunter went to check on Amanda and found her watching a video of her and Sachael when Amanda was 8 and Sachael was 10.

"_Mandy, get out of that tree!"_

"_Climb it with me, Sachael."_

"Mandy?" Hunter spoke up, Amanda pausing the video.

"Corbin complain about me slapping him?" Amanda asked as Finn crouched down to her and they kissed.

"He more than deserved it… but she had gotten worse, hadn't she?" Hunter responded.

"She couldn't move anything below her neck… her lungs were giving out." Amanda replied, Hunter pulling her into a hug. "Her parents are angry at me…" She responded.

"You didn't want your sister suffering anymore, kiddo. We can't go back and change the past, no matter how much we want to." Hunter replied softly, kissing Amanda's forehead before they let go and he left.

Curled up in Finn's arms, Amanda closed her eyes to rest… and Finn rested his right hand on Amanda's stomach.

"Hey there, kiddo. I know things are rough now but I promise, they'll get better. Your mom and I are sorry that you didn't get to meet your Aunt Sachael… but she loves you and she's watching over you." Finn responded quietly before brushing his own tears away.

_"I always will, Finn."_

Finn turned towards his left, seeing a faint outline before Sachael appeared.

_"A little hint, Seth is gonna buy some pink onesies for the baby. He wants a niece but there's always next time." _Sachael responded before she faded away.

Finn looked at Amanda, kissing her forehead before closing his own eyes.

_**September 19th 2018…**_

Amanda shivered slightly as the gel was cold on her stomach, Finn holding her hand as he knew from the past few months that she was still not used to the feeling of the ultrasound gel.

"Just a few more minutes, Darlin'." Finn responded.

"And we'll know what our baby is." Amanda replied before they kissed.

When they saw their baby and heard the heartbeat, Amanda and Finn smiled… and Cali Amann did as well as she looked closer.

"It's a boy." Cali responded after turning to them.

"Liam Christopher…" Amanda replied before she and Finn kissed.

The two couldn't wait to welcome their son into the world.


End file.
